December 9, 2010 (Day 313) — Redrum
It is Cocktails, 365’s policy that it always reveal when we receive samples of booze to review for the Website. As well tell those who offer samples, we will accept the liquor for review, but that does not guarantee a positive review. This week Cocktails, 365 received a bottle of Cockspur Fine Rum and Cockspur 12-Year Rum. Listed below are the opinions of Cocktails, 365 and no one else. And always, thanks and drink up!
I’ve come to appreciate rum more and more as I tend to become older. Now, I realize I’m psychically young, but I have the personality of an old fogy, so it counts. I’m figure my personality is aging at roughly 20 years per year, so it’s all good. I was approached by the rep for Cockspur Rum a couple months ago, asking if I was interested in reviewing their rum for the site. As always, I was more than happy to oblige. A few months went by, so I didn’t think much about it. I still was eager to try the rum, but I’m no spoiled little kid. I could just pay for it myself.
Lo and behold, it arrived at my door Tuesday morning. I sat down this evening to sample the two drink simultaneously, and then make at least one drink with one of them. As usual, we’ll break it down like so: I’ll review the two liquors and then create the cocktail. This way we can have a better understanding of how the liquor plays into the drink as a whole.
Before that though, I have to fly my geek flag. Cockspur is made in Barbados. I’m a Futurama nerd, as has been established before.
So, naturally, I hear Barbados, I think…
Barbados Slim
Cockspur Fine Rum
• It has a very good taste. It’s similar to Meyer’s Dark Rum, although it doesn’t have that same wateriness on the end I sometimes find in Meyers. Much more body on the end of it.
• Very smooth. It has a lighter color than the 12-year (obviously, since it’s aged longer).
• It’s growing on me the more I drink it. It’s a good base spirit for some darker, more fall and winter-like drinks.
Cockspur 12-Year
• Much heavier than the regular rum. There’s a very strong, sweet vanilla taste on the end, similar to some black rums we’ve sampled.
• Like the Fine Rum, it has a very smooth taste and little bite on the end. Due to the strength of the flavor, I probably wouldn’t mix this in too many things. Excellent to be sipped on the rocks or neat, if you’ve got the cajones for it.
So, now that we’ve sampled both, which I do enjoy both and considering the price point, they’re in a decent price range, it’s time to make a cocktail. While there is a rum called Redrum, this will actually be the cocktail called Redrum. For those unfamiliar, it was a line made famous by the Stephen King novel and its crazy-ass movie adaption.
Particularly, Jack's special brand of crazy-ass.
Redrum
2 oz Cockspur Fine Rum
1 oz grenadine
2.5 oz orange juice
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, then top with the liquor, grenadine and juice. Shake well until a frost forms on the shaker. Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice and serve.
A nice, well balanced, if not overly sweet drink. You know your drink is already going to be a bit sweet when you’re using a darker rum. However, that 1 oz of grenadine is almost a bit too much. Granted, it does give the drink it’s necessary red hue, but it’s almost a bit too syrupy on the end. Personally, I’d tone the grenadine back a bit to keep the red, but not overpower the rest of the drink. Otherwise, the rum is an excellent base spirit for this kind of drink.
Cheers!
— Mark
Cocktails, 365 
Leave a Reply